Transit Expansion Continues in 2017 Budget

Dec 8, 2016

Proposition 1 revenue going to more service, new buses

Snohomish County, Wash. – Due to a stronger local economy and the first full year of funding from 2015’s Proposition 1, Community Transit expects sales tax revenue to grow by $19 million in 2017. The money will go to new bus service, more buses, more employees to drive and maintain those buses, and new capital projects, most notably the Swift Green Line between Bothell/Canyon Park and Boeing/Paine Field.

“Community Transit is delivering on its promise to provide more service, more often, to more places,” said CEO Emmett Heath. “The next few years will be a pivotal time for transportation in Snohomish County.”

In September, the agency added two new routes on Highway 9, opening new east-west transit connections in the county. In 2017, the agency will expand service by another 6 percent, starting with more midday and evening bus trips and additional weekend service in March. A proposal for the fall 2017 service expansion will be released for public comment early in the year.

Community Transit’s 2017 Budget, approved by the Board of Directors on Dec. 8, assumes operating revenue of $172 million and operating expenses of $134 million. The operating revenues will also fund an ambitious capital program that includes purchase and delivery of 57 new buses, including 17 Double Talls, and the start of construction on the Swift Green Line.

Swift Green Line

The Swift Green Line builds on the success of the Swift Blue Line, which began operation on Highway 99 in 2009. The first bus rapid transit line in the state, the Swift Blue Line carries more than 1.6 million riders a year between downtown Everett and the Snohomish-King County line.

The Swift Green Line will operate between the Canyon Park Park & Ride in Bothell and a new Seaway Transit Center, which will be constructed at 75th & Seaway Blvd. in Everett, across the street from Boeing’s main gate. Construction on the Seaway Transit Center, as well as 31 Swift stations and road improvements on the I-5 overpass at 128th Street, will begin in mid-2017.

At $73 million, the Swift Green Line is Community Transit’s largest capital project ever. The agency is expecting about $50 million in federal grants.

Other capital projects in Community Transit’s 2017 Budget include work to upgrade the agency’s wireless communication system, a new camera system at the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center, and a corridor study for the Swift Orange Line, designed to connect to Link light rail in Lynnwood.

Community Transit has been responsible for providing transportation options for Snohomish County residents for 40 years, including bus and paratransit service, vanpool and alternative commute options. Call Community Transit at (425) 353-RIDE or (800) 562-1375 for bus information, or (888) 814-1300 for carpool or vanpool information, or go to www.communitytransit.org. You can also read our blog at www.communitytransit.blogspot.com, visit our Facebook page, follow us @MyCommTrans or @CurbIt_CT on Twitter, or watch us on YouTube.